All it took was seven words on June 22, 1987 for Pacers general manager Donnie Walsh to become reviled among basketball fans throughout Indiana.

“The Pacers will take UCLA’s Reggie Miller.”

Thirty years ago, the course of professional sports in Indianapolis forever changed when Reggie came to town. Here's a look back at the fallout from that draft as told in the Indianapolis Star from June 23, 1987.

Background

Heading into the draft, fans were pleading for Walsh and the Pacers to take hometown hero Steve Alford with the 11th pick. After starring for New Castle and winning IndyStar Mr. Basketball in 1983, Alford averaged 19.5 points per game in four seasons with the Indiana Hoosiers and led the program to a national title in 1987. He was a two-time All-American and made the All-NCAA Tournament team during his senior season.

Dennis Bland of Broad Ripple watches Steve Alford shoot in their March 19, 1983 semistate matchup at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Alford piled up 57 points and broke seven scoring recods in leading his team to a a 79-64 win over Broad Ripple. Alford hit 16 or 27 field goals and 25 consecutive free throws in the matchup. New Castle lost the semistate championship game to to the eventual state champs Connersville that evening 70-57, despite Alford's 37 points. (Photo11: Jerry Clark/IndyStar)

What wasn't there to like?

Of course, Pacers fans had been here before. In 1986, they were clamoring for the team to pick Scott Skiles, who became part of Indiana basketball lore by leading Plymouth to a state title in 1982. He shot 52 percent with the Michigan State Spartans during his career and averaged 27.4 points per game during his senior season, ranking second in the country. Skiles was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks instead, and played just 13 games during a rookie season plagued by injuries.

Meanwhile, Walsh drafted Chuck Person, who averaged 18.8 points per game and won Rookie of the Year.

And then there was Reggie Miller. He averaged 17.2 points per game in four seasons with the Bruins, finishing second on the school's all-time scoring list ... behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the eventual all-time NBA scoring leader.

That's all well and good. But, come on. Alford was there.

'Boos were heard again in Market Square Arena...'

It was like clockwork. Walsh stepped up to the microphone to announce the Pacers' first pick of the 1987 draft. He spoke. Boos rained. He walked away.

The Dallas Mavericks selected Alford in the second round.

“The Pacers, with the 11th pick overall in the draft, got the player they wanted … but not the player the fans wanted, Indiana’s Steve Alford," Pacers beat writer David Benner wrote in the Indianapolis Star on June 23, 1987. "Upon General Manager Donnie Walsh’s announcement, the reaction from the 5,000 spectators in MSA was predictable: boos.”

The same thing had happened the year before when Person was picked.

“Boos were heard again in Market Square Arena on Monday afternoon," Benner wrote. "That’s as sure a sign as any that the Indiana Pacers had a successful National Basketball Association draft.”

As Star columnist Robin Miller noted, many fans viewed Walsh as having committed the cardinal sin by avoiding the consensus Indiana pick.

“Forget the fact Miller may have been a much better fit for the Pacers’ backcourt than Alford or that Walsh may have actually pulled over two good moves on a day which didn’t look to have much promise," he wrote. "This was a direct snub at, heaven forbid, Hoosier Pride.”

Hoosier Pride, indeed, had been harmed. Walsh understood it, but he also wanted some patience and perspective from fans.

“I like the fact that we have so much interest here in basketball, but I don’t like the fact that just because I don’t select a player that people interpret that as denigrating that player," he told the Star. "I like Steve Alford and I think he got picked by a team that can use him. That’s a good team for him.”

Pacers rave about Miller's potential

In the aftermath of the pick, there was no doubt among the Pacers brass that they had a star in the making.

“I don’t think there’s any question he was the best player available at the time we selected for the job we needed," Jack Ramsey told the Star. "This kid can shoot, he’s a player who has a lot of confidence in himself, he has a lot of drive to succeed, he has a level of aggression where he won’t back down, he’s coachable and I think he can be an asset to this team.”

Indiana's Reggie Miller takes a break between plays against the Toronto Raptors on April 2, 2004 at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Pacers won the game 84-64.(Photo11: Sam.Riche/IndyStar)

On paper, Miller looked like he would provide an immediate boost to an offense that ranked 18th in the league in scoring for the previous season.

“I brought his name up a week ago because I realized some of the players we were looking at weren’t going to be at 11," Walsh said. "Then the more I looked at film on him, the more I checked into him, the more I thought, ‘I should have been thinking of this guy all along.’"

Miller was on board right away.

“I love it," he said. "It’s a great opportunity with an up and coming ball club. It’s a great feeling and I’m very excited.”

Alford feels slighted

Alford's first reaction to hearing his name called by Dallas was excitement. But soon thereafter, more emotions set in for the rising star.

“I’m ecstatic over Dallas," he said. "If I had to pick another team (than the Pacers), that’s who it would be."

He also had this to say:

“It just doesn’t make sense to me. There are some names I don’t understand, some picks I don’t understand. I don’t see how certain players and certain teams fit in.”

One of those players was Miller himself. Alford called him “a good player and a good person, but where he fits in with the Pacers, I don’t know. He can’t play guard and he isn’t going to play in front of Chuck (Person).”

Alford's father, Sam, also wasn't hesitant to voice his frustrations with how the draft process unfolded.

"In the last week to 10 days, his stock really dropped and there have been a lot of comments on the things he cannot do," he told the Star. "You listen to the draft (on television) and they all talk about who knows the players best. I think the Pacers know Steve the best and I think people started believing them. They (the Pacers) never did say, ‘No, we don’t want Steve, he’s not what we’re looking for,’ and the issue is over. Instead, it dragged on for a 10-day period of, ‘Steve can’t play point guard. Steve can’t handle the ball.”

At the end of the day, all that was left for Alford to do was prove the Pacers wrong.

“I want to prove to myself that I can play at the ultimate level," he said. "I believe I can, but now it’s time to show myself and other people that I can. The lights will definitely be on at Franklin College tonight.”

Skiles 'couldn't be more happy'

After Walsh announced the team's second-round pick, he also announced that Skiles would be returning to his home state. The Pacers had sent a second-round 1989 pick to the Bucks in return for the player looking to jumpstart his career.

“I never made it a secret I wanted to play for the Pacers," Skiles told the Star. "It’s great to be back home. I couldn’t be more happy. This is like Draft Day all over again for me.”

Pacers guard Scott Skiles goes up for two of his 10 points against the Celtics. Mike Fender photo March 16, 1988 (Photo11: FILE)

Milwaukee had convinced Walsh and the Pacers' coach that Skiles' ailments were behind him and that brighter days were ahead.

“He is a tough and competitive player," Ramsey said. "He wants to play and he wants to win. He is competitive and aggressive and has that contagious attitude and inspirational quality that rubs off on other players.”

Guilty until proven innocent

Despite Walsh's track record of success with the franchise, he drew the ire of fans across the state in the days following the draft because he didn't make the pick they thought he should have made.

“Despite choosing the right Person to restore respectability to this franchise, Walsh will now be under fire for not putting Alford in a Pacer uniform," Miller wrote in his column published the day after the draft. “Pacer Pride has made some big strides under Walsh. It’s about time the guy got some encouragement.”

Indiana Pacers team president Donnie Walsh answers questions from the media at a news conference before their game against the Boston Celtics in Indianapolis, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)(Photo11: DARRON CUMMINGS, Associated Press)

Walsh knew the criticism came with the territory, and was willing to take it.

“I know every year I don’t take the local player I’ll get booed, but it’s my job to try and make this team as competitive as I can. Maybe some year we’ll be able to take somebody from Indiana or Purdue, but it didn’t work out this time.”

The next player the Pacers would draft who attended college in Indiana? Damon Bailey in 1994.

How it worked out

Of course, Walsh ended up getting the last laugh. Miller saw action in all 82 games of his rookie season despite starting just one, averaging 10 points -- the lowest average of his career. Skiles struggled in two seasons with the Pacers before developing into a solid player with Orlando later in his career.